Buyer Beware! Door to Door guys trying to sell AT&T U-verse

There are sales guys going door to door trying to sell you AT&T U-verse.

They are not AT&T employees, they work for an SF firm called "EMW".

They claim they are contracted by ATT, but they did not have any photo I
ID's nor did they have any Palo Alto permitted ID/paperwork.

Whatever you do, don't buy from them without calling AT&T to verify whether you can receive U-verse (I want it for faster Internet). I called ATT this morning and found that U-verse is available in my neighborhood, but barely faster than the DSL speed I have now.

The guy was also trying to sell U-verse voice to me. ATT said that the voice option is not available in our neighborhood at all.

This story contains 135 words.

If you are a paid subscriber, check to make sure you have
logged in.
Otherwise our system cannot recognize you as having full free access to our site.

If you are a paid print subscriber and haven't yet set up an online account,
click here
to get your online account activated.

Comments (25)

3 people like this

Posted by AT&T sucks
a resident of Adobe-Meadow
on Jun 24, 2011 at 11:34 am

AT&T sucks. I am constantly junk mail and junk phone calls from "AT&T contractors" trying to sell me U-Verse. I keep telling them "do not call" but they say they cannot since I'm already an AT&T customer (phone landline).

Thanks for posting about this. This guys are super annoying. They always come during dinner. The last time, I opened the door, and saw some AT&T brochures, and immediately said, "I don't want Uverse." Then he tried to pretend he was "just coming about a problem with the lines in the area." As if. Like repairmen usually wear ties on the job, and the only equipment they have is channel listings for uverse. So, when I told him I wasn't interested, he goes, "oh, can I ask why not," and so I said, "cuz."
Great point, Crescent Park dad - these guys probably don't care at all about the quality of your service. I haven't read any tremendous reviews about Uverse. Additionally, I would like to dump AT&T DSL because they keep jacking up the prices. At this point, I wonder if going back to cable might be a good option. Who knows.
I'm going to find my old 2400 baud modem and see if I can still connect to Compuserve.

Posted by Bob
a resident of Community Center
on Jun 25, 2011 at 11:50 am

My wife and I fell for this - initially , having had it with some problems with ATT DSL. SHE was impeccably dressed, slight accent, claimed to have a Master's degree from SF State, and was concerned about our DSL speed since high speed lines were or are being installed in our neighborhood.(Already here). She was from someplace in Europe. Mentioned nothing initially about UVERSE. It was a weekend and was very hot, and we offered her cold water or lemonade. It was only after she 'checked' our computer to check the speed did the hype over U-Verse begin. I told her I was not going to dump DISH - period. She politely said that was not a good idea. She finally left when we held her ground and escorted her out. I saw another young man also impeccably dressed carrying a similar clipboard and papers the next day on the corner of Channing and Guinda.

Posted by anonymous
a resident of Duveneck/St. Francis
on Jun 25, 2011 at 1:25 pm

Yeah, you are under no obligation to open your door to YOUR home to anyone. The likelihood of their offering a legit, worthwhile service is pretty low and there is a certain amount of risk when you engage with someone off the street like this. If you may be interested in AT&T, for example, why not research their products yourself and buy from them in a business setting as opposed to door-to-door, which is proven to have so many risks.

Posted by Amy
a resident of another community
on Feb 12, 2013 at 12:59 pm

These douch-bags are at my door right now and I tried telling my husband that we were not getting service through these people and I was shooed away. They've been talking for over 45 min. We'll see what happens.... :-/

Posted by call the police
a resident of College Terrace
on Feb 12, 2013 at 4:23 pm

Ask to see their IDs. Door-to-door solicitors are required to have IDs and permits. If they cannot produce them, call the police.

Half the time, these guys are just burglars casing your home. If you don't answer the door, they look for an unlocked window and break in. If you are home, the pretend they are salesmen, but they also try to figure out when you are not home so they can break in.

Not answering the door is a bad idea, though replying without opening the door may be safe.

Posted by bettyswift
a resident of another community
on May 21, 2013 at 11:30 pm

Many individuals who are selling things door-to-door are completely honest and have a tough job. However, not all are, and some want to do more than just to get you hopelessly addicted to infernally scrumptious cookies. A number of door-to-door cons are being reported nationwide, so the amount of them active in many areas might be growing. Some people end up needing installment loans to get by until the month is over after a scam.

Posted by Matt
a resident of another community
on Jun 16, 2013 at 7:39 pm

I'm one of the creeps selling Uverse door to door. It's a challenging job, but I am compensated for my efforts. I am paid 100% commission. That doesn't automatically make me a con-artist. Uverse is a good product @ a good price and when you buy through the door to door creeps we can often save you money and upgrade your services at the same time.
YOU DON'T HAVE TO BE AFFRAID OF THE SALESPEOPLE. If you open the door I'm going to smile at you, compliment your lawn, pet your dog and ask you a few questions about your cable bill and the services you are already receiving. Lighten up people

Posted by fed up
a resident of Downtown North
on Aug 17, 2013 at 9:59 am

I got so fed up with the constant AT&T U-Verse phone calls, junk mail, and door-to-door hawkers that I canceled my AT&T service altogether. "Do Not Call" and "No Solicitors" don't work. I'm happy to have no ties with these scammers anymore.

Posted by Travis
a resident of another community
on Nov 23, 2013 at 6:02 pm

As one of those door to door salesmen, I just want to say that most of us are good, hardworking people who have a tough job. However, you are DEFINITELY not wrong to ask for IDs/permits before doing business with any of us. There are a lot of scammers out there, and they give us legit salesmen a bad name, I would prefer if everyone would ask for IDs/Permits and call the cops if they cannot produce these items, because the less scammers out there, the better for all of us.

That being said, most of us are only out here to help. I encourage everyone to keep an open mind. If it makes sense for you to switch, do it. If it doesn't make sense, no worries. We are just here to present the information, and to make the process of switching service providers as convenient as possible for the customer.

These solicitors who attempt to hawk AT&T's U-Verse are ruthless thugs. A few years ago my elderly mother was almost the victim of identity theft when two guys came to her door trying to hawk AT&T's U-Verse. Thank goodness I happened to overhear the conversation that was taking place. One of the solicitors was doing all of the talking, while "his accomplice" wasn't saying much at all. He was squatting down on my mother's porch smirking the whole time. The first thing that the talker said to my mother was, "All of your utilities are going underground and you need to upgrade right away." My mother looked shocked and surprised at the same time. Then the same solicitor said, "We'll need to sign you up right away. You will need a new password." Then my mother was asked for her social security number! What? I was seething inside listening to this con artist playing and preying. The solicitor asked my mother for her Comcast billing statement. My mother said she didn't have the statement as she paid the bill. My mother said, "All I have is my water bill statement." The solicitor said, "Oh that'd be fine." That's when I stepped in and told these guys that we're not interested in your service. They would not take no for an answer. I had to resort to calling 911 and a police officer was questing the two men. Sadly they weren't arrested since they were "documented" with the "proper ID and permits." Yes, but they attempted to steal case sensitive data from my mother. Why did they want my mother's social security number? And why did they want to see my mother's water bill? Account numbers are as good as gold for these thugs. My mother was raised in an era to trust people. Trust your doctor, trust your minister or priest, trust, trust, trust. Well, we now know that you don't always trust your doctor, never trust a priest or minister, and NEVER trust some Bozo going door to door telling tall tales with intentions to ravage your bank account! I called AT&T to complain and all I got was the typical runaround. AT&T claims that they employee their solicitors from third party sources, and the rep I spoke with refused to tell me the name of the agency they use to contract their solicitors. You suck AT&T!

Posted by corporate trainer for uverse door sales
a resident of Stanford
on Feb 26, 2014 at 3:44 am

Fyi, at&t outsorces not only for outdoor sales but call centers and retail stores. Unfortunately a few representatives hold no integrity to what they do because they lack information about the true job for the client: provide better communication and customer service for new and existing customers acquisitions. I worked for one such company alongside a graduate of Harvard and William and Mary. I graduated from Middlebury College. We are the new faces for at&t. We strive for the American dream...be successful and enjoy life...we are the ones beginning to train and develop others to have better skills tan us. How we do so is by following a legitimate business plan/ system that not only increases revenue for the client but also improves their image via exemplary face to face facilitation...so i totally understand how many may feel regarding strangers at your door. I felt the same way too before this opportunity. What i found by working with the company is that you customers don't know why I'm at your door...you don't know who we are...not taking it personal. But many of us uphold our professionalism and educate ourselves immensely in order to help with transitions to the new ip networking system. I can't change opinions immediately but i can help 1 to 2 of you daily. Over time perfected automated drones will be at your door lol...please consider the positives behind outsourcing

Posted by AT&T SUCKS
a resident of Crescent Park
on Feb 27, 2014 at 12:30 am

Just go around Palo Alto and ask people how many if they had the choice would move away from AT&T ... I think the percentage would be around 66% .... two-thirds.

As far as I know there is no competition for phone and Internet without being forced to buy cable.

I was one of the first people I know to get DSL/broadband to my residences, and the first years were hell. Outages, slow performances, customer representative that knew nothing and would make you scramble around trying to pin outages on the customer when it was clearly a system issue.

Well, thankfully DSL has gotten better, but I have had outages that last days at times ... not often, but never once have I been offered any compensation back. No breaks on my bills.

AT&T used to be a well-respected company, now it is a thug.

If I had an alternative I'd cut the cord and never look back, and I bet lots of other Palo Altans would too. So ... why doesn't our city do something about getting some competition into the communications sector.

Not only that, but way into an are where cellphones/smartphones are ubiquitous, I still be very low connectivity bars on my phone. Just the edge of acceptable down near unacceptable. I found out how to switch my iPhone from showing bars to showing a numeric rating ... and the rating in my house in the middle of Crescent Park in this age of the Internet in Silicon Valley is one step from being the worst possible.

Posted by Ruthless Thug
a resident of another community
on Jun 18, 2014 at 3:29 pm

Wow! I never thought of what I do for a living as "thuggish". I sale telecommunication products door to door and I always have. I consider myself a Christian before anything else, so I will forgive the ignorance and hatred others have for people smart enough to knock on their door when they are at home (the evening). The fact of the matter is that in any job, there are bad and good examples of an employee. I personally have made lifelong friends at their door. Been invited back to bbq's, over for dinner, out to dinner etc... I live in a very affluent neighborhood in my hometown. Why? I assure you that is not because I am a thug. I work hard, am exceptional at what I do, honest, and in the business of saving people money. What sort of monster could work under these conditions?

The fact of the matter is that many door to door sales people are professionals. AT&T is a phone company before anything else. They are a utility company with an opportunity to either save money, or get something better for the same price. They are no different than the gas company sending their "thugs" around to read your meter. Ever seen the gas company knock on your door and ask if there is some way to save some money here? I think not.

Most of the negative people I run into are only hostile in the event that they know they made a bad decision with whatever service they have now. It is amazing how many nice folks will stick to their guns and crum your service, just because they are angry it is superior or more affordable.

On another note, people who lay claim to entire industry as being full of thugs and wrongdoers are generally the worst type of employee at their own job. It takes an intelligent buyer to stand on their porch and compare apples to oranges and make a decision concerning logic. Dumb people cannot do that. Their pride, anger, ignorance, and judgments keep them paying high service fees for crap products. Door to door sales people are armed with promotions and savings that a resident can only obtain through them. That is a fact. You can call the company and deal with another sales person, or you can deal with the one on your porch who lives in your community. The choice is yours. But please refrain from calling people thugs and thieves who are out working for a living. It is absurd.

Posted by Indiana Dad
a resident of another community
on Oct 9, 2014 at 11:21 am

I had AT&T salespeople knock on our door at 6:30 pm. They were sloppily dressed and no vehicle was in sight. They berated my wife, when she told them it was an inconvenient time. They demanded to speak to me because they thought I was the sole-decisionmaker in the household. We switched to Brighthouse six months ago when AT&T stated they could not match their price. Brighthouse customer service is not the best, but better than AT&T and the internet is a heck of a lot faster. I also saved $20 a mo.

I've had the displeasure of dealing with those door-to-door idiots attempting to hawk AT&T's U-Verse. I tell these "kids" no I don't want your product and they won't take no for an answer.

On one occasion I had one of these [portion removed] AT&T solicitors say he wasn't going to leave my property until I listened to how "I can save a lot of money." I told this "kid" (he looked to be around 17) to vacate my property or I'm calling 911.

This little twerp "had balls" and sat down on my rattan porch chair. I wanted to kick the brat's rump, but I restrained myself and called 911.

The dang "kid" finally vacated himself from my porch before the police arrived. However, I gave the police a detailed description of the solicitor.

So before any other bleeding heart sympathizer of door-to-door solicitors wants to "play their violins" and proclaim to the world what "honest," "God fearing," "christians" they all are, they'd better take note that SMART people are plentiful; SMART people will be conned by the nonsense that expels from the solicitors' mouths. Only a fool will tolerate it and give in to these cons, thugs, lowlifes, or whatever else you may want to call them.

Posted by Shannon G.
a resident of another community
on Jul 27, 2015 at 9:12 am

Wow. I've just started this door to door sales job with AT&T about 3 weeks ago and although it's not my first pick of a job I can't believe some of the things that you "wholesome" homeowners are saying. I am a Christian and one thing I can't stand is somebody trying to jip a customer just to make a buck. Since I've started I've knocked on about 400 doors and a lot of people I haven't "sold" because I didn't feel like it would be in their best interest. Although I work for AT&T I personally feel like MY name is what people are going to think of when something goes wrong. The people who have heard me out and switched I've saved them on average $400 a year. One guy I saved over $700. That's the part of this job that I like. Helping people save money. I never suggest that someone switch or buy out of their contract with another provider just to go with AT&T if it's not going to benefit them in the long run.

I also don't knock of people's doors who have No Soliciting signs (even though they do tell us to anyway and give some BS answer as to why we did anyway) because I just don't even want the drama. If God wanted you to save money, he would've had you put up a No Soliting sign lol.

A lot of yall who disrespect door to door sales people just becsuse of the stigma that society has attached to it are disgusting anyway with your piss poor attitudes. You don't know someone's story so if you don't want the services fine, but being but being nasty and rude to someone you don't even know is pathetic.

Don't miss out on the discussion!Sign up to be notified of new comments on this topic.

Email:

Post a comment

Posting an item on Town Square is simple and requires no registration. Just complete this form and hit "submit" and your topic will appear online.
Please be respectful and truthful in your postings so Town Square will continue to be a thoughtful gathering place for sharing community information
and opinion. All postings are subject to our TERMS OF USE, and may be deleted if deemed inappropriate by our staff.

We prefer that you use your real name, but you may use any "member" name you wish.

Palo Alto Weekly Holiday Fund
For the last 23 years, the Palo Alto Weekly Holiday Fund has given away more than $4 million to local nonprofits serving children and families. When you make a donation, every dollar is automatically doubled, and 100% of the funds go directly to local programs. Itâ€™s a great way to ensure your charitable donations are working at home.